certainty
Americannoun
plural
certainties-
the state of being certain.
- Synonyms:
- confidence, assurance, certitude
-
something certain; an assured fact.
- Synonyms:
- truth
idioms
noun
-
the condition of being certain
-
something established as certain or inevitable
-
without doubt
Related Words
See belief.
Other Word Forms
- noncertainty noun
Etymology
Origin of certainty
1250–1300; Middle English certeinte < Anglo-French, equivalent to certein certain + -te -ty 2
Explanation
A certainty is a sure thing, something we know is true or will happen without any doubt. Here's a certainty: One plus one is two. And here's another: The earth orbits the sun. The noun certainty comes from the Latin word certus, meaning "sure" or "fixed." Besides being something that is certain, the word can also refer to a state of mind, like the confidence you feel when you know something is completely true or right. For example, you might speak with certainty about your decision to move to the big city and pursue your dream of becoming a famous actor. (But that doesn't necessarily mean becoming a famous actor is a certainty.)
Vocabulary lists containing certainty
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Louise Brown, head of operations at Awaze, said she had seen more people wanting to stay "closer to home" for certainty around costs, and ensuring they can eventually get home.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
Optimists claim that closure isn’t a certainty, that a final decision hasn’t been made, that the media is writing a premature obituary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
That hasn’t stopped Americans from pushing back against the certainty of taxes—death is another matter—since the cry of “no taxation without representation” helped spark the Revolutionary War.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
The lack of certainty over when the conflict will end has fueled some negative sentiment among investors, who had hoped for a deal between the two and a plan for reopening the waterway.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet still I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realise.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
